Y&R Study Reveals Consumers' Hidden Side

Consumers are hiding their most important desires and motivations from marketers -- and maybe even from themselves, according to “Secrets & Lies,” a new global research study
from Young & Rubicam.

The study -- conducted in the U.S., Brazil and China -- finds that many consumers hold views that are the opposite of
what they say. It also identifies a new consumer mainstream who are comfortable with their own contradictory attitudes.

The study is unusual in its
melding of two research approaches: Traditional survey research, which reveals what people think consciously, and indirect questioning, using an approach called Implicit Association that reveals
unconscious motivations -- the deep drives that operate outside of our conscious awareness.

Consumers hide their motivations. Although they claim
that achieving “meaning in life” is their most important value (#1 global ranking consciously), unconsciously “sexual fulfillment” ranks #1, says Chip Walker, the Y&R
executive vice president who directed the study.

“Absolutely, sex sells -- but it probably won’t copy test well, assuming you are using a traditional copy
test,” he says. “That’s because consciously, people are uncomfortable admitting how motivating sex is.”

Consumers’ deep
inner motivations are often the opposite of what they report. For example, in the U.S., “helpfulness” ranks as the #1 value consciously, but is at the bottom of the heap (#16)
unconsciously.

In fact, American’s top conscious values (helpfulness, choosing your own path, meaning of life) are reminiscent of Oprah, while our
top unconscious values (maintaining security, sexual fulfillment, respect for tradition) seem more reminiscent of Tony Soprano.

What people say and what
they really feel are often two very different things. Marketers have known that instinctively, and it explains why some campaigns that seemed on the mark felt flat in the marketplace.

A few years ago Heineken did a campaign themed “Give yourself a good name” that was about
improving one’s image by having “good character.” It was targeting Millennials who say in focus groups that they value being a “good person” and hate
“status.”

“So you’d think the campaign would work great, but it bombed in market,” Walker says.

Heineken followed up with their current “Open your world” ads featuring a wild, dancing young James
Bond-like guy -- which is much more about traditional status.

“And it’s been a huge success in market, though I doubt it focus-grouped
well,” he adds.

Consumers have secret brand crushes and silent brand grudges. Theyactually like “popular” brands like Google
and Microsoft a lot less than they say. And they like less popular brands Exxon and the National Enquirer a lot more than they say.

Many
brands that are well-liked consciously fall considerably in the rankings unconsciously. For example, Google is ranked #2 consciously, but #13 of 14 brands unconsciously.

The research reveals that many people have contradictory attitudes, Walker says.

“We think that brands need to understand both conscious
and unconscious attitudes,” Walker says. “As our research shows, they each tell us something different, so we need both to fully understand today’s more idiosyncratic
consumer.”

Many leading brands are exploring unconscious understanding, he said. Campbells is one. Millward Brown (the leading ad testing
company) recently built unconscious learning into their TV testing product.

“I believe it’s the wave of the future,” he
says.

Some consumers find this state of inner conflict stressful and overwhelming. But the Y&R study shows that a large and growing group, which they
call “Generation World,” takes these contradictions in stride.

This is reflected in the top five conscious attitudes revealed in the
research -- each with over 50% of the global total agreeing. These attitudes all reflect a comfort level with a fluid, evolving, multifaceted identity.

Respondents who agree most strongly with these attitudes -- 42% of the global sample -- represent a new mainstream who are multifaceted, complex and evolving. This group, which Y&R calls
“Generation World,” is found in all three countries surveyed (China, Brazil and the U.S.) and is characterized by being more digitally savvy than other respondents.

But they don’t feel that marketers “get” them. Only 29% of survey respondents globally “approve of the ways marketers and advertisers portray people
like me.” Just 11% in the U.S. feel that way.

There are three big implications for marketers, Walker says.

They should rethink traditional research. Marketers who rely on traditional surveys and focus groups alone are probably misleading themselves.

They should also rethink traditional targeting.

“As marketers we typically put target audiences into
uniform segments and expect them to behave in consistent ways (soccer moms drive a minivan and wear mom jeans),” he says. “This research indicates she is much more complex than
that.”

Finally, they should re-think traditional positioning.

“We’ve been programed to
believe that ‘single-mindedness’ is the foundation of all good branding,” he says. “Yet this research shows consumers aren’t singular today. It may sound like heresy but
is it time brands move away from the single-minded idea and embrace conflict and tension?”